Kremlin aide: Russia's centuries-long romance with West over

MOSCOW – President Vladimir Putin's adviser says Russia has abandoned its centuries-long aspirations of integrating into the West and is bracing for a new era of "geopolitical loneliness."

Vladislav Surkov wrote in an article for Russia in Global Affairs magazine released Monday that "Russia's epic journey toward the West" is over, marking an end to its "vain attempts to become part of Western civilization" spanning four centuries.

Russia-West ties have slid to post-Cold War lows over the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria and other issues, most recently the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy in Britain that triggered an unprecedented diplomatic war.

Surkov, a longtime Putin aide who currently works as the presidential adviser on Ukraine, said "loneliness doesn't mean complete isolation," but added that its openness will be limited.